A compromise vote passed through City Council Wednesday, putting to bed discussion over how to best utilize $302,000 in Community Development Block Grant money from the county.

In a 4-1 vote, the council agreed to submit applications to Kern County for $150,000 toward a city-wide plan mapping areas that needed ADA ramps, in addition to ramp construction and $147,280 toward a rehabilitation of the Ridgecrest Senior Center located on Warner Street.

The city’s fair share of CDBG money for the next fiscal year is $132,250, on top of $168,066 left over from a previous Norma Street project.

Mayor Pro Tem Jason Patin was the lone no vote, holding out due to concerns that some city infrastructure needs took precedent over rehabilitating or expanding buildings.

The initial decision before council was a recommendation by city staff to allocate $197,000 to the complete overhaul of the senior center — which has not seen a major upgrade since it was built in 1979 — and $95,000 for the building that the Boys and Girls Club operate from.

Both buildings are city property.

The building expansion for the BGC would cost almost $120,000, above the $95,000 the application would be asking for.

Speer did indicate that if the projects went out to bid, the costs could come in low and any unused money would be rolled over into the FY 2014-15 year.

While some members of the council initially entertained the thought of the Boys and Girls Club and the Senior Center, with some modification to the grants, discussion turned away from the Boys and Girls Club.

Councilman Jim Sanders strongly advocated the need to pour money into the city’s ailing infrastructure, but was amenable to some overhaul of the senior center, while he was completely opposed to any expansion of the Boys and Girls Club building.

“In summary, I don’t feel like expanding the building is the best use of our money at the current time,” Sanders said of BGC building.

He said on a walk through with Parks and Recreation Director Jim Ponek, the state of the Boys and Girls Club building in the city’s current fiscal situation did not warrant any retrofitting.

The senior center was a different beast entirely, he said, including the repaving of the senior center parking lot.

The way he would split it: some to the senior center, the rest to complying with the city’s need for ADA -compliant wheel chair ramps that came with a city-wide plan.

Patin from the beginning said the decision was a tough one, given the city’s overall infrastructure needs with the information they had gathered since the matter came up during the Dec. 5 council meeting.

“I feel with out budgetary concerns, that expansion is not a good idea,” Patin said. “We’re getting money to address whatever needs we have. Either we fix them or don’t but don’t expand them.”

Page 2 of 3 - The council entertained the idea to see if they could either modify or alter an amendment, Speer pointed out the city already had had two extensions.

Mayor Dan Clark said that while his heart went out to the BGC, he said it was unlikely the vote would fly with the council. The message was clear, either act now or lose out on a year of spending.

Clark however felt the senior center was a major priority.

“I feel strongly that the seniors need a rehab of that building,” he said.

Vice Mayor Chip Holloway expressed his overall concern that with CDBG money being federal money, the city would have to capitulate 40 cents to jump through the hoop to get the remainder 60 cents of the pot.

Holloway, however, pointed out that ADA compliance should remain a number one priority.

Community members were of various mindsets when it came to the issue, with some advocating for ADA and others the senior center.

Business owner Tom Wiknich commented that based on the recent fiscal situation the city was in, it was obvious where the money should go.

“You don’t have the money. You’re broke. Put the money to ADA compliance,” Wiknich said. He said the whole town needs it, especially when he had to open doors at city hall after seeing people in wheel chairs struggling to get in.

“Decisions should be made that would benefit the maximum amount of people in the community,” he said.

Margaret Graham, who utilizes the senior center, said an rehabilitation would be in the best interest.

“The senior center is a place where other seniors have a place to go when they don’t have anyone else to socialize with,” she said. However, she was tired of one stinky situation.

“I’m tired of holding my nose every time I go into the bathroom so I don’t gag,” she said, citing that the smell when the doors were open sometimes reached to the center’s front door.

Jerry Taylor recommended the city utilize the extra space at the Kerr McGee community center to house the Boys and Girls Club, or offer the challenge to Sierra Sands Unified School District Superintendent Joanna Rummer to find a solution to help house the Boys and Girls club in light of a $57 million grant gifted by the Department of Defense.

Rehabilitation should be out of the question, Taylor said, given that the city had other obligations to fill.

Holloway briefly expressed a desire to know whether rumors over whether the county would refuse to take over the senior center were true or not.

Page 3 of 3 - Councilwoman Lori Acton pointed out that at the moment, there was some interest expressed by Kern County, but pending a meeting on Friday it would be best to wait.

“Is that a bad thing that if they take the building over in six months that we fix the building?” Clark asked, pointing out it would benefit the seniors in the community no matter who took over the building.

Speer, the interim city manager, suggested an option fronting the full $197,000 for the senior center rehab, try applying for a $50,000 advance against the FY 2014-15 year if the county had the money available in one pot or another and use it with $100,000 already available, and if not move forward on spending $100,000 for ADA.

Sanders said he could not support a vote and suggested flipping the idea.

Clark said he could not support such an idea.

Holloway offered the compromise: Shave a little more than $51,000 from the senior center project by removing line items for replacing senior center kitchen cabinets and counters and the outside painting.

That way, he said, the city could invest $150,000 into ADA projects and a plan, and the senior center could receive the essential overhauls like plumbing, floor tiling and ceiling repairs.

The vote carried, with instruction to staff to amend the senior center project application and submit it along with the ADA wheelchair ramp project.